Independent, Integrity, Experience, Issue Driven
Are You an Independent Voter?
A lot has changed in the 58 years since Morris Showel wrote the statement below about Washington being a political paradise for the independent voter. But nothing has changed so much as the state’s new “Top Two” Primary System. Finally the Independent candidate is on an equal footing with both the Republican and Democratic parties. As a voter in the 18th District this is going to be your historical chance to vote for a real Independent.
Political Independence in Washington State, Morris Showel (1952). “The State of Washington can truly be characterized as the ‘political paradise’ for the independent voter.”
The Wall Street Journal (January 19, 2010). “The independents are the fulcrum of the American electorate."
The Moderate Voice ( May 21, 2009). “Both political parties have lost adherents since the election and an increasing number of Americans identify as independents. The proportion of independents now equals its highest level in 70 years.”
Committee for Unified Independent Party. “This is an exciting and challenging time for independent voters and for the independent movement. Independents are now 40% of the electorate. Polls show that 41% of college students consider themselves indies (sic) as do 35% of African Americans under the age of 30. Independents participated in the presidential primary process in record numbers and played an integral role in shaping the presidential season.”
PEW Research Center (March 20, 2008). “Currently, 36% say they think of themselves as a Democrat, virtually unchanged from 2004 (35%) and 2000 (35%). Instead, as the proportion of self-identified Republicans has decreased, the percentage of independents has grown substantially, from 32% in 2004 to 37% today.”
The Washington Post (May-June 2007). Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard University: Survey of Political Independents showed that 29% of the respondents were Independents (as opposed to Republicans or Democrats).
The San Diego Union-Tribune (February 5, 2008). “The year of the independent voter. Independent voters are suddenly the hottest commodity in American Politics.”
